The Broadway musical adaptation of Devil Wears Prada is finally set to debut with a premiere run in Chicago (tickets are available here), and in case you forgot, it features music co-written by the one and only Elton John. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, The Rocket Man opened up about helping to bring certain aspects of the classic 2006 film into the present.
“We sat down and approached the fact that the movie was 20 years ago and a lot has changed. Social media, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter,” John recalled. “We thought, we just can’t put in this scenario from 20 years ago. We have to make it modern. We have to bring it up to date. And that appealed to me as well because I wanted to make the music modern. And it’s a woman’s story.”
With this in mind, John requested to work with a woman to write the lyrics. “I was sent three brilliant female lyricists and I picked Shaina Taub,” he said. “It was a good choice. We’ve hit it off so well.”
As the Tribune notes, the Devil Wears Prada musical actually marks the second time John has ever worked with a female lyricist. Nearly four decades ago, he co-wrote 1986’s “Don’t Trust That Woman” with Cher under the pseudonym “Lady Choc Ice.”
With both the musical and John’s farewell tour pushed back multiple times by the COVID-19 pandemic, he wrote most of the Devil Wears Prada score while on the road. The pop legend started his work with a song called “I Mean Business” and just recently finished the final tune for the musical.
Co-produced by Kevin McCollum and John’s spouse David Furnish, The Devil Wears Prada, The Musical will be directed by Anna D. Shapiro with a book by Kate Wetherhead. Broadway star Beth Leavel steps into Meryl Streep’s iconic role of Miranda Priestly, with Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs played by Taylor Iman Jones.
The premiere run takes place from July 19th through August 21st at Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theatre. Grab your seats via Ticketmaster. No schedule or Broadway theater has been announced for the New York run, although it’s expected to open during the next season. Meanwhile, John is set to kick off the North American leg of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour” on July 15th; grab your seats here.
